VF500F OEM Muffler Cleaner Options?

The OEM mufflers on my 1986 VF500F are in really good shape, but over the years, they have picked up some light scratches and marks, but nothing has penetrated the outer coating and there are no dents. What is the best way to clean up the surface on these? I don't know if I should try rubbing compound or if there is a better option. Also does anyone know what type of coating is on the OEM mufflers? Thanks.

 

WOW !!

you've done an exemplary job of keeping that bike clean, yes, sir !!

 

Thank you, but my OCD requires that I do more

 

They are black chrome. Be very careful trying to "polish" anything out.

 

That is very helpful. It looks like the "Mothers California Gold Chrome Polish" is safe for black chrome. I will give it shot and report back. Thanks.

 

Yeah, once you go through the black chrome, you'll spend hours and maybe days stripping the rest of the black off.... sometimes you're better off doing nothing. Besides, chicks dig scars and you can't see them when you're riding.
Even on chrome, scratches are hard to remove. Just like paint, that requires material removal and chrome is very hard..... did I mention chicks dig scars?

 

Yeah, I agree best left alone or at most a very fine paint polish. Once you polish it off there is no way back. Not a finish you see on modern bikes. I always thought it was pretty classy myself.

 

No, I am not planning to do any more than a light pass on it to see if the little stuff looks any better. These mufflers are already a 9+/10 so I definitely don't plan to get too far into the outer coating. Same plan as using a fine rubbing compound.

 

I wouldn't use any rubbing compound.... wipe clean with naptha or mineral spirits, soap and water. Should take care of any tar-like deposits and dirt, it will look cleaner.
If you are going to use a compound, use the finest available, Novus #2 or Autosol, or some car wax "scratch remover" and try a spot you'll never see....

 

So I finally purchased a bottle of the "Mothers California Gold Chrome Polish" to try things out on the OEM black chrome mufflers. Rather than test with the mufflers on my 500 which are near mint, I recently purchased another set of mufflers which are in very nice shape, but needed some clean up.

Here is a before and after shot of the top of the mufflers. In all honesty, there is not much of a difference, but in person, they definitely look brighter and cleaner. By touch, you can also feel the coating that the polish put on the black chrome. Very nice end result.



The bigger difference was with the underside. As you all know, the roadside takes the beating. Before I started, I did clean these mufflers, so they were free of dirt and crud. So on the left, you can see all of the crap still on the black chrome even after a cleaning. On the right is what it looks like after being polished. Huge difference here.



I can safely say that this polish did not harm the finish of the black chrome. The results I got here were after polishing them twice. I imagine that if I give it another round, it will look better yet. Over the upcoming winter, I am planning to apply it to the good mufflers on my 500 hoping for the same result.

 

Good job, I have had no luck making my 500 mufflers look better.
I may have to give Mother's a try. I have several other products from them and have always had good luck.